In the Class40s, the nasty winds off the eastern tip of Menorca played the role of a level crossing: up for the leaders, down for the followers. At the front, an Italian-French tug-of-war began between Ambrogio Beccaria "(Alla Grande Pirelli)", celebrating his birthday by leading the race, and the French duo of Achille Nebout (Amarris), with Mikael Mergui (Centrakor) in his wheel. Two other Italian top guns, Matteo Sericano ( Tyrolit) and Andrea Fornaro (Influence II) were on the lookout for the slightest slip-up. François Verdier (HaPlusPme) and Mathieu Claveau (Prendre la Mer - Agir pour la Forêt) were a little further back but still in the thick of things, doing more than just making up the numbers.

At the end of the day, the bows were pointing towards Ibiza.

New route: another idyllic island in the sights

This MEDMAX will definitely never be an ocean race like the others. After shortening the initial course for the Class40s, which was deemed too uncertain given the weather forecasts, the race committee, faced with the much faster pace set by the leaders of these 12-metre monohulls over the past two days, has added an island for the sixteen duos to sail around. "That's an extra hundred miles or sosays Guillaume Rottée, the race director. It avoids arriving too early in Saïdia, and then the guys are there to sail". A diversion of around a hundred miles, then, past the gateway to Ibiza, heading north-west, to pass the largest of the Colombrete Islands, off the coast of Spain. "A superb volcanic island in a nature reserve. With pebbles, just like in Brittany, but with more sun and less tide".. After leaving the island to port, the Class40s will, as planned, head for Saïdia.

Ocean Fifty: lengthening your stride

The Ocean Fifty, for their part, have embarked on a game of poker. After a passage through the Bouches de Bonifacio during the night that everyone described as tough, downwind sailing, with points at 30-31 knots, the descent of the east coast of Sardinia brought its share of tactical battles. Faced with a bracing breeze boosted by a flow between Sicily and Tunisia, it was upwind that these nine giant multihulls had to find their solutions.

In this game, it was the oldest and the youngest in the fleet who played their cards right. Fabrice Cahierc (Realites), just into his sixties, threatened Koesio's leadership, followed like a shadow by Baptiste Hulin (Viabilis), not yet 28. Thibaut Vauchel-Camus was full of praise for this fine foil: "Some have tried the offshore route and Viabilis has done a great job of it.

It's going to be another very tactical night, with Sébastien Rogues (Primonial) and the women's duo of Anne-Claire Le Berre and Elodie Jane Mettraux, well back in the race, climbing up behind the leading quartet. The next stretch due west between the tip of Sardinia and Ibiza should in turn prove tactical, with a slight easing expected in the middle. Ah, the Mediterranean!

Happy birthday, Ambrogio!

Ambrogio Beccaria wanted to be a leader on his birthday. And that was the case yesterday, on this 1^er October 2024, when the talented Italian skipper of "Alla Grande Pirelli", which he leads with his compatriot Alberto Riva, celebrated his 33rd birthday by leading the Class40 fleet towards Ibiza. "We're going to spend the night there, but never mind, I'm not going to celebrate my birthday there," joked the man whose first name, Ambrogio, means "immortal"! For the time being, the man who describes the MEDMAX Occitanie - Saïdia as the "Pastis Route", in parallel with the Route du Rhum, prefers to wait for the finish in Saïdia to celebrate... victory!